Page 41 of Love Unexpected
“No. It has to be now. I’ve already messaged her and told her I’m coming.”
“Then...” Alex motioned toward Rosie as she walked across the warehouse floor toward the kitchen.
“Would it be weird taking a woman with me...to go meet another woman?”
“You’ll just be going as friends, right? And Tyler will be with you the entire time.”
Tyler.I’d forgotten that I’d thought about setting Tyler up with Rosie. This could be a good opportunity for them to get to know each other. “So I should just ask her?”
Alex clapped me on the back. “Go for it. I think she’s your best shot at making this trip work.”
***
@RandomIOfficial: Okay. Everything is set. Have I told you how excited I am to meet you in person?
@Briarsandthorns: You have. A few times. It’s starting to worry me, actually.
@RandomIOfficial: Why is that?
@Briarsandthorns: Because I’m very ordinary, Isaac. And your expectations feel very...not ordinary.
@RandomIOfficial: That was a very honest answer. But I don’t think you are ordinary. And I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.
@Briarsandthorns: You haven’t met me yet, remember? I could be.
@RandomIOfficial: I have good intuition, Ana. It’s guided me through life so far. I don’t think I’m wrong about you.
Chapter Fifteen
Isaac
Rosie was sitting on her porch steps, her elbows resting on her knees, when I pulled to a stop in front of her house early Friday morning. She wore bright purple Converse and big sunglasses, with a striped blazer over a vintage-looking t-shirt I couldn’t quite make out. A suitcase the same color as her shoes sat at her feet.
“I still don’t understand why we have to take such a small car,” Tyler said, shifting in the back seat.
I eased the car into park and turned to face him. “Are you kidding? This car is a classic. Have you ever seen interior plaid like this?” I ran my hand down the side of the passenger seat. “This is a car that has character.”
“Says the man who doesn’t have to sit in a munchkin-sized backseat with all the equipment and luggage.”
I grinned. Tyler wouldn’t be Tyler if he didn’t complain about something, but he’d filmed from far worse locations. Perched on the back of a golf cart. Riding backward on a roller coaster. Sitting on the back of a donkey. He could handle the backseat of a VW Rabbit. “This is why I pay you the big bucks.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Are we stopping for food? I’m already hungry.”
“Road trip snacks are up next, but we’ve got to get some opening shots first.”
“Want to do them here? The light’s good, and her house has a good Charleston beach bungalow vibe.”
“Yeah, but give me a minute first. Let me get her up to speed and make sure she’s comfortable before you start rolling.”
“No problem. I’ll just stretch out and relax while I wait. I’ve got tons of space back here.”
I ignored Tyler’s grumbling and climbed out of the car, squashing the nerves that flared in my gut. Rosie had agreed to make the trip pretty quickly when I’d asked her the day before yesterday, but there had definitely been hesitation lurking in her eyes. I was pretty sure it was only the assurance that we could stop off and see her parents on the way home that had pushed her into saying yes. Weirdly, her parents lived in a suburb of Kansas City, just an hour or so away from where Ana lived in Lawrence. We wouldn’t even have to make a detour.
She stood as I approached and pushed her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.
“You ready to do this?” I asked.
She nodded and looked at her feet where a cat was wrapping itself around her legs. “Yep. I just need to put Reggie inside.”
